Bangladesh seeks role of Indonesia, ASEAN in Rohingya repatriation
Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen has sought proactive support from Indonesia and of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) for an early repatriation of the stranded Myanmar nationals from Bangladesh to Myanmar.
The FM made this call at the Bangladesh-Indonesia bilateral meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Retno LP Marsudi in Jakarta on Monday.
The meeting reviewed the whole gamut of the existing excellent bilateral relations and both sides renewed their commitment for further strengthening it, said a press release of the ministry.
The two countries agreed to accelerate cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, agriculture, food, energy, health and pharmaceuticals, connectivity, ICT, tourism, halal trade, human resources development, defence, youth and cultural exchanges, etc.
They expressed optimism that the Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) in the pipeline would be concluded soon. They stressed on concluding the bilateral preferential trade agreement (PTA) for further strengthening the economic cooperation.
FM Momen also requested for an expeditious decision on Bangladesh’s candidacy for the Sectoral Dialogue Partnership of ASEAN.
After the official talks, the two foreign ministers made brief press statements and unveiled the official logo for the Golden Jubilee celebrations and the translation of the historic 7th March Speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Indonesian language.
The two foreign ministers exchanged felicitations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The foreign minister also met the Indonesian minister of trade Zulkifli Hasan in Jakarta on Monday.
The two Ministers reviewed the trade relations between the two countries and agreed to expedite the conclusion of the bilateral PTA in this year of golden jubilee of diplomatic relations.
Momen requested the Indonesian side to consider favourably Bangladesh’s request for inclusion of RMG items in the PTA in order to address the trade gap, the press release adds.
The two ministers agreed to further accelerate the exchange and interaction between the business communities of the two countries. Momen invited the Indonesian trade minister to visit Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time this year.
In the evening, the foreign minister addressed a gathering of Indonesian business persons and investors urging them to invest in Bangladesh.
He also unveiled a commercial stamp issued by Bangladesh embassy in Jakarta in celebration of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.